Growth forecast as Diageo sees Africa as biggest emerging market

The maker of Guinness, Smithwick’s, Bushmills, and Bailey’s said its annual growth in Africa is set to accelerate beyond the current 15%, helped by its zero-duty Senator keg beer in Kenya and a strong rise sales of Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff.

Africa is Diageo’s biggest emerging market region, and vies with Latin America to be its fastest-growing, with economic growth accelerating in much of the continent and with its population of 1bn set to double by 2050.

“We are seeing more people with more money to spend, and with these drivers of growth in place we expect overall growth to accelerate,” said Diageo’s Africa president Nick Blazquez.